Tour of Ostuni: the White City

The White Town, is picturesque and to be experienced. Ostuni, a renowned tourist destination, boasts a wonderful medieval village, rich with alleys and whitewashed houses, in a maze of streets which recalls an Arab Kasbah. Take a stroll in the old town centre, called “la terra” (the land) to distinguish it from the more recent “marina”: it offers picturesque spots amid the alleys, sloping stairs, courtyards and small squares, where whitewashed houses appear, embellished with geraniums, craft shops, typical restaurants and small shops. Ostuni, the White Town, is magic thanks to the characteristic whitewashed houses of its historic center, a tradition the inhabitants still keep on. The Fifteenth century Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral dominates mid town, with a façade sporting a 24-rays rose window of rare beauty. Along the Via Cattedrale, which divides into two parts the medieval heart of town, there is the former Carmelite Monastery, nowadays seat of the Museum of pre-classical civilization of Southern Murgia, which contains the calque of Delia, a pregnant woman who lived 25,000 years ago. In Piazza Beato Giovanni Paolo II (the Cathedral little square), eighteenth century buildings like the Palazzo Vescovile and the old Seminario are connected by the fascinating Scoppa arch. At the ground floor of Palazzo Episcopio, the Diocesan Museum holds and exhibits the extraordinary historic-artistic heritage of the Ostuni church, with internationally renowned masterpieces. A series of churches and elegant houses embellish the old town, surrounded by Aragonese walls, where there are the two ancient town gates, Porta Nova and Porta San Demetrio. Ostuni’s countryside is dotted with masserie (farmsteads), mostly turned into holiday farmhouses (agriturismi) and luxury resorts. Among them, Santa Caterina, with its high octagonal tower, the fortified masseria Lo Spagnulo and the masseria Cappuccini, with its trulli. Itinerary: - The tour starts with the visit of the main squares and the main churches of the city. - Scenic route on the Valle d’Itria.